Philippines – Page 101 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2011-05-20

Goducate Training Center’s Pilot Batch

Goducate Training Center in Iloilo, Philippines has begun training its pilot batch of trainees. For the past 3 weeks, 24 full-time trainees have started learning the basics of agriculture from experienced agricultural experts and the basics of teaching from pedagogic lecturers. These skills will lay the foundation for them as they serve as community workers helping needy communities to feed themselves and educate themselves.

This pilot batch of trainees are all staff of Goducate. We felt that it is best for our own staff to undergo training first, so that they will understand the challenges and struggles that future batches of trainees will undergo. Furthermore, training “insiders” and getting feedback from them will also help us to fine-tune our training program for future batches.

The training is divided into morning classroom sessions, followed by afternoon practical sessions of agricultural work in the fields and weekend practical sessions of teaching youth from the neighboring communities. Since the trainees have to continue to perform their regular Goducate work, their schedules are very heavy. Furthermore, the unusually heavy rains have made field work even more arduous.

Hopefully, some of these trainees will be able to help in training the next batch of trainees, and the lessons learned from this initial training will help the faculty to make necessary adjustments to our future training programs.

Goducate Training Center hopes to train hundreds of workers annually
to help the billions of needy Asians to help themselves.

ScreenShot331 — Trainees being asked to identify the seeds that they will be planting

2011-05-092011-05-10

Goducate Orchestra member tops her class

Last month three members of the Goducate Orchestra—Jessica Evangelista (flautist), Mariel Camposo (violinist), and Kimberly Cabalfin (violinist)—graduated from high school in Laguna. Through an informal arrangement Goducate was invited to present them with Certificates of Recognition at the school’s graduation ceremony. This presentation was a complete surprise to the students and their parents.

Jessica graduated as class valedictorian. She received 11 medals and numerous certificates for her various extracurricular activities. Her parents were surprised that she topped the class because she spent so much time on orchestra practice. Asked how she managed, she said, “Thank you for the Goducate Orchestra, for the discipline that it taught me. One thing I Iearn that being an orchestra member is just like you are studying in school. Being an orchestra member, you need to persevere, you need to listen carefully to the conductor, you need to practice the skills and knowledge that the teacher teaches you. And the same principles you need in studying in school. That’s why, the principles I acquired being an orchestra member, I applied it when I was studying high school”.

Jessica’s mother told me that when Mrs Calora, the lady who donated the land for the school, heard that Jessica received a Certificate of Recognition from Goducate for her services as a volunteer going to villages to teach other children music, Mrs Calora was impressed and said that she would look for sponsors to help young people like Jessica.

It made me realize that there are people willing to help the needy but they don’t know who to support. Goducate helps the needy to help themselves and others, and to draw these people to the attention of sponsors.

2011-05-04

Women in Dayap learn to make soap

It’s the dry season in the Philippines in April and May, so it has been hard to keep the vegetable plots watered. Therefore those who have been taking part in our veg@table programme in Dayap are instead learning how to make liquid dishwashing soap from our livelihood trainer Jonatan.

Dayap is the resettlement village for people in Manila who lost their homes during Typhoon Ondoy in 2009. Most of the men still work in Manila in the week and come home only at the weekends. Hence it is the women who are around most of the time.

The two women in the accompanying photographs are already selling their soap. Goducate helped them with a loan of PHP 180 ($4) as start-up capital, which they will repay when they have sold all their products.